Char-grilled chicken salad with pineapple & basil

Chef: Bill Granger
Prep: 25 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Char-grilled chicken salad with pineapple & basil
Pineapple and basil in the same dish is Vietnamese for crazy. It sounds like the most bizarre combination but it’s one of those things that just works. The addition of a roughly chopped cashew relish adds an Indonesian satay edge to this dish. Perfect for a summer barbecue.

3 garlic cloves, crushed with the flat of a knife

1 tbsp light brown sugar

3 tbsp light-flavoured oil

2 tblsp fish sauce

2 tblsp lime juice

1 tsp turmeric

Freshly ground black pepper, to season

800g chicken thigh fillets

Cashew relish

1 large cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and diced

1 red chilli, finely sliced

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp caster sugar

3 tbsp lime juice

100g roasted cashews, chopped

Salad

1 iceberg lettuce, torn

handful basil leaves

1 small pineapple (about 1kg), skin removed, cut into long wedges

Whisk the garlic, brown sugar, 2 tbsps of the oil, fish sauce, lime juice, turmeric and freshly ground black pepper in a bowl. 

Add the chicken and leave to marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes. Heat the char-grill or griddle pan to medium–high.

Drizzle with the remaining oil and cook the chicken for 5–6 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

To make the cashew relish, place the cucumber, chilli, fish sauce, caster sugar, lime juice and cashews in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

Arrange the lettuce, basil leaves and pineapple wedges on a platter, top with the sliced chicken and serve the cashew relish on the side. 

Recipes from ‘Bill’s Everyday Asian’ by Bill Granger, published by Quadrille (www.quadrille.co.uk) Photos © Mikkel Vang.

Serves
4

Preparation Time
25 minutes

Cooking Time
5 minutes

Main ingredients
Chicken

Recipe Type
Dinner, Healthy, Salads

Cuisine
Asian

Special Info
Egg free, Dairy free

Level of Difficulty
Easy

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